MIDLAND, Texas — Around the country, more people are getting tested for COVID-19, and we're seeing that same trend here in our area.
Val Sparks, Infection Preventionist with Midland Health, said health leaders are definitely feeling the impact of the holidays. Sparks said 57 out of the 98 people that went in for a test on Thursday tested positive.
"We are seeing a large increase in the number of individuals requesting testing," said Sparks. "They are symptomatic after the holidays, some of them are COVID, and some of them are Influenza A and Influenza B."
Sparks said a big difference has been seen in just a matter of days.
"Last week we were at 14% positive," said Sparks. "After the Christmas holiday, we've been having more demand for testing. We have had to open more testing slots and have had to divert staff to try and cover the need for testing."
Sparks said that about 120 appointments are available a day. She hopes people are mindful if they are having trouble getting an appointment.
"People need to stay home if they cannot find a place for COVID testing," said Sparks. "Stay home and isolate away from family members and others."
Sparks told NewsWest 9 that people should try and stay away from the emergency room unless its an actual emergency.
"Please don't use the ER just for testing," said Sparks. "Only if you really do need medical help urgently. The numbers are so large that we cannot have that many individuals waiting in the ER. We need to save the ER for true medical emergencies."
Over in Odessa, a spokesperson at Medical Center Hospital said that a week before Christmas the positivity rate was about 3 or 4%. Now, that number has jumped to about 25% over the past few days.